Magnificence (history of ideas)
The word magnificence comes from the Latin “magnum facere”, which means to do something great. The Latin word draws on the Greek “megaloprépeia”. This noun conveys the meaning of doing something great which is fitting or seemly to the circumstance. Magnificence is a philosophical, aesthetic, and socio-economic notion deeply rooted in Western culture since classical antiquity. It regards the greatness of actions, courage, excellence, honor, generosity, and splendor of lifestyles of noble purposes.[needs copy edit]
Magnificence in Classical Antiquity
Plato
Magnificence is the special quality in Plato's conception of the
Herodotus and Xenophon
The historians Herodotus and Xenophon proposed a social and economic interpretation of magnificence. They used the term to describe the donation of private money and property to support public works or communal needs. In ancient Greek and Middle-Eastern societies this was a widespread custom. Affluent citizens holding public positions were expected to use their own money for a wide range of activities that were deemed important by their communities.
In the
Xenophon, in his treatise
Aristotle
In his
In the fourth book of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle describes magnificence as the ethical virtue linked to money: "It is a fitting expenditure involving largeness of scale"[7] However, Aristotle insists that the type of expenditure must be appropriate to the circumstance. Hence, not every type of action requires the same degree of expense. Thus, Aristotle, like Plato, consolidates the separation of the virtues of magnificence and magnanimity. Drawing on Xenophon, however, he dignifies the economic aspect of a great expenditure by turning it into an ethical virtue.
With Aristotle, magnificence also acquires an aesthetic dimension.[5]: 43 It becomes an art in itself, requiring that one understands what type of expenditure is needed and that one spends tastefully. A magnificent man knows that the expenditure should be large, but appropriate to who is actually spending, the circumstance, and the object of the expense. The Aristotle scholar W. D. Ross suggested that in this conception magnificence turns out to be mainly a matter of aesthetic good taste.[8] The aesthetic role that magnificence acquired with Aristotle exerted a profound influence on rhetoric, the arts, architecture, and art criticism.
Cicero and Rome
Magnificence in Ancient Rome
Magnificence took on Roman characteristics. In ancient Rome, it is a
Rhetoric, Demetrius, and art criticism
In classical rhetoric, magnificence is one of the models of the
The grand style of magnificence also entered terminological discourse[vague] of ancient Greek art criticism. The Greeks drew on rhetorical terminology to describe and evaluate sculpture, painting, and architecture.[15] They applied the term magnificence to works of art that express grandeur and other lofty features.
According to Pliny the Elder, the grand style of magnificence can be appreciated in works such as the statue of Zeus by Phidias and Zeuxis’s painting of Zeus enthroned.
Vitruvius and the magnificence of Roman architecture
In his monumental De architectura, Vitruvius analyzed both the artistic-aesthetic and the philosophical-ethical aspects of magnificence and enshrined the concept in classical architecture.[5]: 113–125 In the sixth book, Vitruvius argues that the client (public or private) is magnificent because the beauty of a building depends on its cost.[16] The materials employed should be of the best quality and the most beautiful, which means that they are usually the most expensive. Thus, for Vitruvius magnificence is not only a typical artistic and aesthetic feature of architecture, but is also connected to the social and political prestige of the client. Architecture becomes the means by which a public or private sponsor of a building can display his honor.
It is no surprise that ancient Romans granted such importance to public architecture: even the ancient historians and geographers celebrated the Romans’ ability to create buildings that were not only useful but also beautiful and magnificent. Dionysius of Halicarnassus states that the three greatest examples of magnificent Roman architecture were the aqueducts, the roads, and the sewage system.[17] Strabo and Livy celebrate the hygienic functions of the aqueducts and the cloacae.[18] Pliny the Elder provides a moving description of the engineering skills used to rebuild Rome's great sewage system, the Cloaca Maxima, which is still in use today.[19]
Magnificence in the Middle Ages
Thomas Aquinas
Dante Alighieri
Magnificence in Renaissance Italy
With the advent of the
Magnificence as a civic virtue
During the renewal of Italian cities as cultural and political hubs, magnificence gained fresh significance. This mirrors the transformation of traditional political structures and the rise of a novel civic culture rooted in virtues that differed from earlier
Magnificence and patronage in Renaissance Italy
By the first half of the 15th century, magnificence had become a well-known and highly[
Magnificence regained its ancient splendor as an aspect of works of architecture and art. The rediscovery of ancient rhetoric and the pre-eminence given to Vitruvius throughout the Renaissance influenced not only patrons’ tastes but also those of the architects and artists who were commissioned to create magnificent masterpieces that would give fame both to themselves and to the entire town. In De re aedificatoria, Leon Battista Alberti drew on both the philosophical and aesthetic concepts of magnificence. Many Italian Renaissance architects and artists applied magnificence both in their artworks and in their writings. Antonio Averlino (known as Filarete), Giorgio Vasari, and Andrea Palladio extolled the philosophical and aesthetic aspects of magnificence.
Magnificence was not only engaged in by distinguished citizens, princes, popes, architects, and artists but was also analyzed by humanist scholars. In
Magnificence in the eighteenth century
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
By the 18th century, Italy had become one of the main destinations of the Grand Tour visitors, who came from Northern Europe to study and admire Italian art and architecture and to absorb classical culture. With Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778), magnificence received one of its final interpretations in the Italian cultural context.[20]: 30–45 Universally known as the etcher of the Prisons and the Views of Roman monuments, Piranesi was an eclectic personality, who pursued a wide range of interests; he had a prominent role within the Graeco-Roman debate. In this controversy he supported the superiority of the architects and designers of the Roman Empire and demonstrated the indigenous roots of Roman culture, arguing that the Romans had been influenced more by the Etruscans than the Greeks.[25] In his polemical treatise Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de’ Romani (Concerning the Magnificence and Architecture of the Romans) (1761) Piranesi drew on the heritage of the philosophical, ethical, economic, and artistic aspects of the notion of magnificence. He controversially conceived magnificence as a virtue that was shared by the entire ancient Roman population. Furthermore, he argued that the Romans used the most advanced technical and hydraulic skills, and the finest materials available. They excelled in public buildings and proved they were better at them than the Greeks.
References
- Gauthier, René Antoine(1951). Magnanimité. L'idéal de la grandeur dans la philosophie païenne et dans la théologie chrétienne. Bibliothèque Thomiste (in French). Vol. XXVIII. Paris: Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin.
- The Republic 487a2–8.
- Rabieh, Linda (2006). Plato and the virtue of courage. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 155.